2002

THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

(As presented)

(Attorney-General)

An Act to amend the Crimes Act 1900

The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory enacts as follows:

This Act is the Crimes (Bushfires) Amendment Act 2002.

This Act commences on the day after its notification day.

Note The naming and commencement provisions automatically commence on the notification day (see Legislation Act 2001, s 75).

This Act amends the Crimes Act 1900.

For the purposes of this division,

For section 116 (Destroying or damaging property) and section 117 (Arson),

(1) A person commits an offence if the person—

(a) intentionally or recklessly causes a fire; and

(b) is reckless about the spread of the fire to vegetation on property belonging to someone else.

Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 15 years.

(2) A person (person A) is not criminally responsible for an offence against this section in relation to the spread of a fire to vegetation on property (the relevant property) belonging to someone else if, when person A caused the fire—

(a) the person entitled to consent to the risk of fire spreading to the relevant property had consented; or

(b) person A believed that the person entitled to consent, or the person that person A believed was entitled to consent—

(i) had consented; or

(ii) would have consented if the person had known about the risk of fire spreading to the relevant property.

(3) In this section:

causes a fire—a person causes a fire if the person does any of the following:

(a) lights a fire;

(b) maintains a fire;

(c) fails to contain or extinguish a fire that was lit by the person if it is not beyond the person’s capacity to contain or extinguish it.

spread, of a fire, means spread of the fire beyond the capacity of the person who caused the fire to contain or extinguish it.

(4) The Criminal Code 2001 applies to an offence against this section, even if the Code is not otherwise in force.

Note The Criminal Code, ch 2 sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.

1 For the latest republication of amended laws, see www.legislation.act.gov.au.